Sniffer dogs trained with the help of smelly socks worn by people infected with COVID-19 could soon be used at airports or mass gatherings to detect the ‘corona odor’ of COVID-19-infected individuals, stated scientists.

In teams of two, these trained dogs could screen several hundred people coming off a plane within half an hour, and be able to identify the infected ones with a sensitivity of up to 94.3%. British researchers stated that in an early stage study, involving around 3,500 odor samples donated as unwashed socks or T-shirts worn by members of the public and health workers, the dogs could even sniff out asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 cases, as well as those caused by a mutant variant that emerged in the UK last year… (Reuters, May 24, 2021)